It has been just more than five months since John Fox first walked through the doors of Dove Valley as the Broncos new head coach.

While the first few months of his tenure were all about hurrying — to build a staff, to trim the roster and re-sign free agents like Champ Bailey, to prepare for the draft — now it is all waiting as the NFL lockout reached the 100-day mark on Monday.

Fox said the team is ready for both the start of free agency, with several contingency plans depending on the rules, and for training camp, whenever those events might be allowed to begin. Fox and his staff have created a practice-by-practice schedule for camp, and have also come up with preliminary game plans for the four preseason games.

“As soon as that gun goes off we’ve got multiple plans in place, so we’re just waiting for the race to start,” Fox said.

Fox was back in his office at Dove Valley Monday after spending much of the first half of June with his family in North Carolina. His new home in Denver is almost ready, and his wife and daughter are preparing for the final move. (The couple’s three sons are in college.)

Because of lockout rules, Fox has only been able to keep up with his players via media reports, and he is aware that a group of about 20 players have been holding conditioning workouts in Denver.

“It’s pretty well publicized that guys are working out, as they well should be. These guys are professionals, they understand how they put food on the table,” Fox said. “They’re competitive. They understand they have to be fit to be doing what we’re going to be doing.”

Five games into the season, second-year Avalanche forward J.T. Compher suffered a concussion, suddenly putting a halt to a campaign with so much promise. The former University of Michigan captain missed 16 games from Oct. 16 to Nov. 21, returning the day after Thanksgiving with a two-goal performance at Arizona in which he scored shorthanded -- twice -- on the...